System76 to become a computer equipment manufacturer

System76 company laptop

System76 company is famous for not only being a vendor of Gnu / Linux computers and hardware but also for being one of the first vendors to create a Gnu / Linux distribution for their users and customers.

This is possibly close to over as System76 recently announced that it will become a hardware manufacturer, that is, it will no longer sell equipment assembled with third-party parts but will be a company that sells and distributes its own hardware and software. Almost the same as Microsoft and Apple. Although there are many Gnu/Linux communities and the Internet is mostly based on servers with Gnu/Linux, the truth is that there are few companies that sell equipment with free software and even fewer that create their own hardware.

But, System76 is not the only company like this. Fortunately we have in Spain two companies that sell equipment with free software and Gnu / Linux distributions and that little by little they are orienting themselves to the world of hardware.

One of them is VantPC that already markets keyboards with the penguin button instead of the Windows button. A customization that after years of existence of Gnu / Linux, did not exist in the market. There is also the case of the Slimbook company. A company that sells and distributes equipment that they have assembled themselves and little by little are also moving towards the world of their own hardware. They have recently put up for sale a 100% Gnu / Linux compatible video game capture device.

The arrival of these companies to the pc market may be late, but this does not mean something negative. I believe that its existence is not only positive for the market but also for make the Gnu / Linux option stronger in the computing world, an option that already exists but still resists in many sectors and areas.


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  1.   Gon said

    I do not understand that you see the VANT if they have a lot of years and have never done anything for the GNU / Linux communities.
    They do not have the penguin in all their models only in some and that they are beginning to put it now… .. how many years later 6 or 7 years? Good morning !!
    Not to mention what they have NOT done for the community in these years, that they have not had a forum or anything at all.
    System76 maintains its own distribution, you are waiting for UAV to do so ...

  2.   pidotodev said

    For manufacturers or assemblers to offer products that are fully compatible with GNU / Linux, it seems enough to me. I don't need each one to offer its own distribution or forum. There are already very good distributions to choose from.

    I don't want the equipment to be only compatible with that of the manufacturer, I want to be able to choose any distribution and that everything works, this includes not having to install specific drivers offered by the manufacturer.

  3.   Gon said

    The improvements made by System76 are released. If it does something good, it can be used in other distros.
    Anyway, it was just an example of a company that does things for Linux users, compared to other companies that do nothing, except sell frozen and pre-heated churros.

  4.   javierjg said

    Sounds great to me, better late than never. Vant and Slimbook are quite committed to the community, I do not know if for a short time or a long time, but since I heard about them through a podcast I follow them and they are winning awards on open source etc. All you have to do is get the Librem5 phone out and consolidate, greetings community. Good post.

  5.   Gon said

    You have not understood me Javier, he said that Slimbook is the one that is committed in the community and it is the one who has been awarded the award, not Vant and that they have been for many more years. Before I had a Vant and well, they are not bad, 4 years has lasted me. And of course the Slimbook has better finishes, and so far I'm doing great. If it goes wrong I'll complain.
    I was complaining that only some like System76 and Slimbook do things for the community. I don't know if you read this news that Slimbook has opened a physical site where Linux is taught, but I also follow them on Twitter and they are giving free courses every week:
    https://www.linuxadictos.com/slimbook-lanza-linuxcenter-un-espacio-para-los-amantes-de-linux.html